A little inside glimpse from Feinstein's office about new AWB.

(NOTE: This was originally posted a couple of days of ago, but some folks were having trouble with the link. Here it is again.)

Just received this from a reader:

Mike,

I just got off the phone with Feinstein's office. . . I'll give you a rundown of what I learned:

* Semi-auto, fancy hunting rifles are on the exemption list. Staffer said he'd used one last time he went hunting--so much for the idea that politicians and judges that hunt with semi-autos will oppose the ban.

* He specifically brought up the Kel-Tec KSG as an example of something that they wanted to ban even though it's not semi-auto, so even though the bullet points on Diane's website don't mention extended tubes on pump guns or any other features like pistol grips on them, that doesn't mean they're going to be safe if she gets her way.

* They don't know how they're going to set up the NFA regulation for everything--that will be done with the help of an ATF agent coming over from FTB next week. Therefore, no idea if they'll allow standard NFA transfer with $200 tax for those suckers who register their guns.

* The regulations will be a loose set of guidelines giving ATF authority to set it up how they want, so the picture on the 22nd will still just be a partial picture.

As for the lists of features and the specific exemptions and specific bans, they can't release them until the bill comes out, but the staffer said I could ask some specific questions and he'd tell me what he knew:

* KSG--as already mentioned, Banned.

* M1 Garand is probably Safe.

(MBV Note: I'm not so sure since the Garand has a bayonet lug.)

* M1A/M14--Banned.

* Mini-14--Banned.

* M1 Carbine--Banned (hopefully this will upset some Fudds and older vets/collectors).

At first, he thought the M1-Carbine would be safe, but then he googled a picture of it. Basically, if he saw a magazine sticking below the body of the gun, and if it is a semi-auto, it's banned. He did a similar thing with the Garand and was apparently reading the Wikipedia page. His conclusion was that even though the gun was a military rifle, it "looked like you could hunt with it" and was limited in capacity. Apparently it's impossible to hunt with something that has a magazine sticking out the bottom--hey, since I've managed that before, maybe I can divide by zero too... This also showed that he has no conception of how quick it is to reload a Garand by pushing in a new En Bloc.

As for the new features test, flash suppressors and bayonet stubs are off the list, but he couldn't tell me the whole list, and just because a gun doesn't meet the features test doesn't mean it won't be placed on the specifically banned list. E.g., the M1A wouldn't necessarily fall under the ban if the feature's test only included the old features now that flash hider and bayonet stub are off the list, but it makes the specific ban list. I'd guess this will sweep up SKS's, Vz. 52 carbines, Saigas, Vepers, Hakims etc. (Or at least all of them that they actually Google and look at.) Since they have so little firearms knowledge, I would guess that they'll probably toss in a clause stating that ATF or the Attorney General can add items to the list in order to catch the ones they didn't Google (and to be able to expand the ban unilaterally later on.)

The phone call was a showcase of legislative ignorance, and of their disdain for us. The more I pretended not to know much about guns, the more they opened up to me about the law. I got the impression that they plan to go big or go home and to make quite a list of banned guns and features. From a few comments, I think that although bayonet stubs and flash hiders are gone, there may be more features being added to their list.

Regards,